San Marino. Winter Olympics: Matteo Gatti redeems himself in the slalom: he is 43rd
With the men’s slalom that has seen today the protagonist Matteo Gattithe competitions of the San Marino athletes in Beijing ends.
Gatti was looking for redemption after the giant on Sunday, where he had suffered a disqualification for early departure, and he found it.
Starting with bib number 83 out of 88 athletes at the start, Gatti finished the first heat in 49 position, with a time of 1.08.52 and then completed the second heat with a time of 1.03.41, which earned him the 43rd place finish.
“Today I feel relieved – comments the athlete -, I had to redeem myself after the mistake made in giant. I wanted to take the race home at any cost, so I tried not to risk too much. The first heat was quite difficult due to a very angled track. In the second heat I found a track in better conditions, starting with a lower number; it spun less and was faster and smoother“.
The overall balance of his Olympic participation can be said to be positive.
“Too bad for how it ended up in the giant – comments Gatti -, but I am satisfied. I am one of the few San Marino citizens to be qualified and have completed a slalom race and this is a source of pride.“.
The Olympics is an experience that Gatti will remember for a long time.
“It was all beautiful – tells – . Covid partly affected the event, but less than I could have expected. We also got used to having tampons every morning, it has now become a routine. I am happy to have shared this experience with Anna Torsani. We have been together since childhood and it’s good to be here together“.
My thoughts now turn to the Milan Cortina Olympics.
“I would like to be there – nut -, I will do everything to achieve this. But first I still hope to be at the start of the World Cup next year“.
And now is it time to rest? Not at all.
“Now I’m going to study – concludes Gatti -. I have a technical physics exam tomorrow“.